Johnson, Randy

Johnson, Randy (Randall David Johnson), 1963–, American baseball player, b. Walnut Creek, Calif. After pitching for the Univ. of Southern California, Johnson signed with the Montreal Expos in 1985, playing in the minors until he was called up in 1988. Traded to Seattle in 1989, the tall, skinny southpaw won 303 games during his career and struck out more than 4,875 batters (second all-time, behind Nolan Ryan), relying mainly on his fastball and slider. He won the Cy Young award in 1995, was traded to Houston in mid-1998, and played for Arizona beginning in 1999, when he won the first of four consecutive Cy Young Awards. In 2002 the Diamondbacks' "Big Unit" also scored a pitching Triple Crown, with a 24–5 record, 334 strikeouts, and a 2.32 earned run average. Traded to the New York Yankees prior to the 2005 season, Johnson returned to the Diamondbacks for 2007–8 and signed with the San Francisco Giants prior to 2009, his last season in the majors.